Exactly.

And, to carry out that metaphor: I love a fine whisky and handmade pasta made with super fresh ingredients, but that doesn't mean I don't also love a pitcher of cheap beer and bar pizza, and I don't think one is inherently of more value than the other. Sometimes we *need* the comfort of cheap beer and bar pizza in our lives.

I don't understand why people slag off on what other people like, especially on reddit. Saying insulting other people's tastes is so petty; saying that books other people like are generic or so boring that they could instantly put an insomniac to sleep says more about you than about the books. I just assume that people who have to come on reddit to attack other people's tastes as bad or generic are sad people whose only joy is making other people feel bad, but, then, if you're more passionate about hating other people's taste in books rather than hyping up what you really like, it speaks a lot to your own tastes.

This right here. Whatever you think you should be using is almost certainly WAY less than what you'll actually use. Oil heat is stupid expensive.

It's your book, do whatever you want to it. Who cares what other people think?

Personally, I annotate my books and write notes to myself about things I've noticed or questions I have for future read throughs. I also enjoy stumbling upon other people's annotations.

There's this thing called "inflation." It's kind of a big deal. It's the reason that you can't still buy a new car for $1000.

Could just be our different experiences coloring how we see this. I've been living in New England for most of the last two decades and, I spend a lot of time in upstate NY; I know it's supposed to be economically depressed, but I wonder if your mental picture of Fell might be smaller than the author intends?

Anyplace I've been in upstate NY big enough to have something that might qualify as a "downtown" area in the form of any kind of grid and with multiple apartment buildings, cafes, laundromats and a still functioning motel is big enough that it's almost certainly got at least one or more used bookstores.

Upstate New York and most of New England are positively *littered* with used book stores and antique shops. If Fell, NY is big enough to have apartment rental buildings, it would absolutely have some used book stores. I go camping in upstate NY pretty regularly, and one of our favorite things to do after a camping trip is stop in at random used book stores.

I don't know exactly which part of upstate NY Fell is supposed to be located in, but a quick search for "upstate NY used books" shows dozens of used bookstores throughout.

Hobart, NY, population under 400, is infamous for it's bookstores; it has six independent bookstores despite the village being less than a square mile in area.

If it's already not landing with you, I don't think you're going to change your mind by the end. I thought it was fine, but I did not feel like it lived up to the hype. It definitely felt pretty breezy, and seemed very much like a Book Club Book TM to me, but there's no surprises in it.

Bostonians are cool; here's how you get that sweet pizza. https://goo.gl/maps/pkz64T3HPB4zySJw6